April 25

My mysterious sleep issue continued for another night. Maybe this time the condition of my accommodations had something to do with it. As I mentioned earlier, the Days Inn at Chambers, Arizona, left a lot to be desired. About one-third of the window curtains was falling off the rod. The floor hadn't been vacuumed. The whole room felt dirty — except for the bed sheets, which seemed to be very clean.

I also had trouble getting food. I got to the restaurant next to the motel at about 7:30 p.m. The waitress told me I could have whatever I wanted on the menu as long as it was something with a hamburger patty. So, I got a hamburger and fries. That didn't fill me up, so I went to the convenience store and bought chips and cookies to get more calories before bed, and microwaveable breakfast biscuits and a burrito for the morning.

Even though I was more tired than the night before, I still had trouble getting myself to unwind. I had another restless night.

The ride from Chambers to Gallup would be about 50 miles, usually a fairly easy distance for me. But as I pedaled away from the motel and took a right turn onto the route, I hit a wall of wind. I had to downshift just to keep moving forward. I was looking at a long, hard day.

After about an hour, as I was slogging along, I met another cyclist going the opposite direction. He was on a mountain bike and traveling light. His name was Colton, and he was from Watertown, Wisconsin. He looked about 30. He said he rode across the country several years ago, from New Jersey to San Francisco. Now he was riding Bicycle Route 66 from Albuquerque to Santa Monica. He had done the other two-thirds of Bicycle Route 66 on two previous two-week vacations.

We exchanged info from our experiences up to that point. I gave him a scouting report on Roy's Motel & Cafe in Amboy and told him what he could expect crossing the Mojave Desert. He warned me of a couple of dogs that chased him south of Gallup. He also told me to be prepared for a long climb leaving Gallup. We then wished each other well and rode off. 

Except for pedaling into the wind all day long and going very slow, I didn't have many experiences worth noting. It was just a day to get from Point A to Point B.

I put Arizona behind me near the State Line truck stop, where New Mexico welcomed me. The sign reminded me to stop and set my watch ahead an hour, since New Mexico is on Mountain Daylight Time (Arizona doesn't observe Mountain Daylight Time).

The scenery as I neared Gallup became quite stunning, with red- and green-tinged buttes lining either side of the valley through which I-40, the BNSF railroad tracks and other roads connect Gallup with points west. 

I got into Gallup at about 4 p.m. and pulled up to my place for the night, the historic Hotel El Rancho. Like so many things in the desert, the El Rancho appears a little shabby on the outside — it struggled to survive with the demise of Route 66 — but inside it still has the charm of a grand hotel. 

In its early days, the El Rancho played host to Hollywood celebrities looking for places to get away. It has put the names of the most famous of those stars on several of its rooms. I had the honor of staying in the Gregory Peck room. It may sound like it would be fancy, but it was pretty small. (I doubt Gregory Peck stayed in it.)  I had to move furniture around to make a place to lean my bike against the wall. The bathroom was in the style of an earlier time, with just enough room to squeeze between the sink and toilet to get to the shower.

But the best part of being in the Gregory Peck room was taking a picture of the name plate and texting it to Susan, who is a big fan of the movie star.

I had dinner in the hotel's restaurant. I ordered the chicken cutlet with "Grandma's Mole." The plate came with mashed potatoes and stir-fried vegetables. It was so good I cleaned my plate and ordered another. After overhearing a couple at another table considering the dessert options, I also ordered the chocolate lava cake to go, and enjoyed it back in my room.

The hotel doesn't have air conditioning, so I propped open a window and turned the ceiling fan on low. I'm quite comfortable.

Tomorrow I'm riding almost straight south for about 30 miles before turning left, or east, for another 30 miles to the El Morro National Monument, where I have a simple cabin reserved at the El Morro RV Park & Cabins. The weather forecast is calling for some stiff winds as high as 25-30 mph coming from the south — a nasty headwind. I'm hoping I can get down the road to the turn east before the winds get too strong.

Contact me: Thoughts or comments? Email me at richardridesusa@gmail.com.

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